Life on the High Plains

On a recent visit to Rochester, Minnesota I enjoyed the skyline of the city.  The Mayo Clinic is made up of several beautiful buildings.  My favorite was the Plummer Building which housed the original offices of the Mayo doctors. It was built in 1927 and is very architecturally interesting.  There are gargoyles on the top, arched windows, and statues of nurses in the corners.  We don't get to see this type of intricate and embellished architecture much anymore. Unfortunately I don't have any great pictures of the building.  Whenever we found ourselves outside in the vicinity of the building it was too cold to slow down, take my hands out of the gloves, and take pictures.  I'm talking bone chilling cold...just keep walking as fast as you can type cold. Happy Skywatch Friday!

I get to go for my second painting class today! Last week I learned a lot about instant gratification.  You see the only painting I have ever done before involved two hours, an instructor, and wine (lots of wine).  In that short time frame the class would complete their painting.  It was fun and provided instant gratification. At my painting class last week I spent most of my time fixing colors together trying to get the perfect shade.  Once I got the perfect shade I'd get to apply it to the canvas for that part of the background. So here's what I came up with after 2 1/2 hours.     My instructor was so impressed with my sky--it has three different shades of blue.  Really?  It's just a blue sky.  I think she was just trying to be nice and make me feel good. So I got to bring my painting home, but was told not to touch it, just let it dry.  I'm using oil paints which take forever to dry unlike the acrylics used in those sip...

I feel like such a bad cat mom. My Tabitha is turning 18 years old this year and she has become super skinny.  I thought it was just because she was getting old.  I took her to the vet a few days ago for her annual check up and he was alarmed by her weight loss.  She has lost almost half her body weight since the vet last saw her. It turns out she has hyperthyroidism.  Her metabolism is running so fast that she's wasting away.  Today she starts a new food to help stop this.  Hopefully she'll start gaining some weight back.  The bad news is that she can't eat anything else besides this food--no treats, no milk, no popcorn (yes, Tabitha loves popcorn).  Hopefully she will like this food because if she doesn't we'll have to give her a pill every 12 hours for the rest of her life. It's a good thing I'm learning this now because in the next couple years we are going to have a whole house and barn full of geriatric critters. Why do the critters ...

My sweet husband is one of the most generous, selfless men I have ever known.  What is important to him is taking care of his family.  Getting him to spend a penny on himself is almost impossible.  However, in the last couple days it has become apparent that his winter wardrobe is in need of an update.  Since I had the day off and he had to work I offered to go shopping to get him a few new sweaters and some khakis.  He gladly took me up on the offer. Now understand that I generally don't believe in doing the shopping for my man, he ought to be able to do this for himself.  After all, he doesn't shop for me (thank goodness).  A few weeks ago I heard a story about Coach Harbaugh from the San Francisco 49ers who although he earns a $1 million plus salary, he buys his khakis from the big discount store much to the horror of his wife.  This made me laugh because my hubby is the same way--he won't pay more than $10 for a pair of khakis.  This ...

I did it!  I finally signed up for something I've wanted to do for a long time--art lessons! My mom became an artist later in life so I hope I've inherited just an ounce of her talent. Last night I dragged Irv to the store to help me gather the supplies I need for my first lesson on Saturday (he didn't mind though because I took him out for Mexican food beforehand).  The next thing I have to do is to find a picture of what I want to paint.  Do you think I might be the next Rosa Bonheur? Or van Gogh? We'll just have to see. Hobbies. Interests. Volunteering. Healthy eating. Active lifestyle. These are all things required for many years of happy, healthy retirement which is something I think about a lot these days. Speaking of health, my dad said I needed to post an update on how I'm doing.  It's been 10 days since my procedure.  Still not pain free, but getting a little better everyday.  Keeping positive!

For two days everything has been frozen. Freezing fog. Snow. Overcast. Cold. Beautiful! But now it's time to warm up...highs in the 60s by the end of the week. Woohoo!

After two weeks of living on the road and not feeling up to par I decided it was time to remind my husband why he loves me.  What better way to do that than with the Pioneer Woman's Baked Ziti? Start by sautéing some garlic and onions in olive oil. Then add a pound of hamburger and a pound of sausage. While the meat is browning mix up the cheese mixture--mozzarella, Parmesan, ricotta (we prefer low-fat cottage cheese), egg, parsley, salt and pepper. Once the meat is browned drain off the grease and add one big can of stewed tomatoes, two cans of tomato sauce, some Italian seasoning, salt and pepper.  Let it simmer while the ziti cooks. After the sauce has simmered for awhile reserve about two cups of the sauce and let it cool. Cook the ziti al dente and rinse in cold water. Mix with the cheese mixture. Mix with the reserved sauce. Make layers in a BIG casserole pan by adding half the noodle and cheese mixture.   Followed by...

Heading home!!! This week we "celebrate" the 10 year anniversary of Facebook.  I've been a member for five years and this week was an eye opener for me. Way back in December when I found out I was coming to the Mayo Clinic I told Irv we needed to keep it quiet except for a few family members and friends.  We had one agenda for making the trip to Rochester--get the most medical care in a week's time to hopefully find an answer.  It wasn't a vacation or site seeing trip, it was a business trip.  Most everyone didn't know the dates we were coming until a week or two before.  I broke my own silence and either posted something on this blog or on Facebook that quickly let the whole world know.  I soon regretted that decision. I posted a status update and before I knew it was getting comments from people that I had no clue who they were.  The friends I have on Facebook are my real friends, I don't friend people just to increase my friend count.  Apparent...

Just wanted to post an update and say that everything went well today.  They entered my venous system through the jugular vein so my neck is unbelievable sore and sensitive to the touch.  I have to keep a pressure bandage until tomorrow so that I don't accidentally bleed out if it doesn't clot properly.  (Kidding, but not kidding, Irv was given specific instructions on what to do if it starts bleeding--call 911 even though we're right across the street from the hospital and then lay me flat on the floor and apply pressure.) My sweet hubby is taking great care of me.  He got me some Minnesotan fried cheese curds for lunch (most of which are still in the refrigerator) and now he's out getting me some frozen yogurt.  Hopefully I'll be on the mend now and my life can become more active again. Looking forward to going home on Wednesday! By the way, I only have 280 steps logs today.  I guess that means I'll have to do 20K tomorrow.  :)

Has anyone seen my Broncos?  They seem to have gone missing. So we've had a weekend to just hang around while we wait for my procedure tomorrow.  I don't know why those doctors can't work seven days a week so that I can get home sooner.  (Just kidding.) What does one do in Minnesota in the midst of winter when it's freezing cold?  Well, there's eating. And some drinking, but not too much. There's the Mall of America.  We're probably the only people who visit this mall, buy lunch, go to a movie, and walk around the mall for a couple hours while only buying a pair of gloves and a sweater.  The place was wall-to-wall people.  I think this may be the only place people can go this time of year to get out of the house for awhile. There's a lot of stuff going on inside this mall.  Roller coasters, mini golf, movie theaters, Lego store, plus hundreds of stores and thousands of people.  There's eve...